Speaker: R.I. needs high school focus

RHODE ISLAND needs to focus its work force development plans on the state’s high schools instead of on higher education order to redefine its economy, a local educator said at RIC’s “EmpoweRIng for the Future” Conference on Friday.

PROVIDENCE - Rhode Island needs to focus its work force development plans on the state’s high schools instead of on higher education order to redefine its economy, a local educator said at Rhode Island College’s RI STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) “EmpoweRIng for the Future” Conference on Friday.

“We know that 12 year olds can hack into a bank [website]. Why are we persisting in our belief that we can’t teach high school kids to program,” said Lou Mazzucchelli, a visiting scholar at Brown University’s school of engineering and director of the Slater Technology Fund Fellows Program.

He also told the audience, which was comprised mostly of educators from area secondary school systems and higher education institutions, that economic development is dependent on creating out-of-state demand for goods and services and investing in lifestyle businesses – those that will stay in the state with perhaps limited growth – rather than start-ups that potentially could either fail or move elsewhere once successful.

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